


Cuphead and Mugman in, "Don't Deal With the Devil"

by alleycatforthelulz



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Novelization, Toon World, cautiously tags as not rated bc I don't know how violent I will get with this, nothing too special
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-11 07:51:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13519794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleycatforthelulz/pseuds/alleycatforthelulz
Summary: When Cuphead and his brother Mugman wander across the wrong side of the tracks and into hell itself, they find a grand casino where anything can come true. At the price of your soul.Basically a standard novelization. I'll try to keep things as canon compliant as possible but I might throw some insight into the bosses and Inkwell Isle itself.





	1. Elder Kettle in, "Foreboding Forewarning"

They say that past the bridges of Inkwell Isle, through the hustle and bustle of Isle Three, ‘cross the phantom tracks, and through the gaping maw of hell itself, lies a casino. Now in this casino, there’s the token slot machines and craps table, alcoholic beverages and sleazy manager. And it really was just like any other casino, except for the owner, who was—

_Ooh, ooh, I know! It was the Devil himself!_

Yes, my boy, now hush. Ahem, and it really was just like any other casino, except for the owner, who was the Devil himself. Many a time, he was content to simply observe the patrons lose and gamble away their winnings. But sometimes when one hit a particularly lucky streak, he would appear and offer them a deal—at the cost of their soul.

_But why would he do that Elder Kettle? That’s not very nice…_

_Because he’s the Devil, duh._

Now, now, boys, no fighting. You see, no one knows why the Devil is like this. Some say that he used to be an angel who fell and lost his way. Some say that he was born the Devil and is simply doing what he was born to do. Either way, many a person, be they foolish or desperate or something entirely different, have sold their soul away to the Devil. And for such petty things too! Fame, beauty, magical crops of all things—!

_Hmmm._

What’s wrong my boy?

_I was just wondering, um, uh—_

_What do_ you _think of the Devil?_

_Cuphead!_

No, no, my boy, it is a valid question. While I have only met the man, if he could be called that, once, I will say that it is an experience I would not repeat again.

_Why’s that?_

_CUPHEAD!_

Hoho, settle down, it is alright. You see boys, it was a rather frightening experience and I nearly ended up selling my soul.

_Oh no!_

_What happened?!_

That, boys, is a story for another time. Just know that I am here and well today and that is what matters. But come close boys and clean out your brims. Can you hear me?

 _Yes Elder Kettle._ | _Yes Elder Kettle._

Good. Now listen to my advice boys: If you ever come upon a casino…

Don’t deal with the Devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tis short but I wanted to get this out there. I'm working on chapter one rn but I also have physics hw so rip me amirite


	2. Cuphead and Mugman in, "Dirty Damned Deal"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I mean, why wouldn't the devil cheat at his own game?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some translation (?) notes since some slang might not be apparent:
> 
> bunny - term of endearment to someone lost or confused (used sarcastically/degradingly in the chapter)  
> rag-a-muffin - a dirty or disheveled individual  
> big timer - charming/romantic man (used with the charming meaning, also used sarcastically)  
> shooter - person who rolls the dice in craps  
> applesauce - expletive, like "aw nuts!"
> 
> I would put the rules of craps here but I don't have enough time sorry

Birdsong filled the cheery air as Inkwell Isle began to wake. It was a beautiful morning, the clouds positioned perfectly above the also still waking sun. The inhabitants of Isle One stretched and gave a huge yawn as they began to set out upon their day. The tranquil peace was soon shattered by an eager shout though.

“Hurry Cup, catch it!”

“I’m trying Mugs!”

There was a collective groan from the nearest inhabitants and a scowl from the sun. The two local troublemakers, while not usually morning people, were known to be up early and about every so often. With good-natured sighs and weary chuckles, they settled in to see what the two boys would do today.

Said two boys came running down the path from their house in hot pursuit of butterfly. Mugman waved sheepishly at the sun, yelling out an apology as they raced past the Root Pack’s garden. Cuphead, for his part, didn’t notice any of this as he swung his net erratically after the butterfly.

Psycarrot leaned out of the garden to wave the two boys down as they passed by. Mugman, seeing this, reached out to pull Cuphead to a stop. At the same time, Cuphead gave a mighty swing that missed the flying insect by an inch. The butterfly continued on freely.

“Aw, applesauce!” Cuphead muttered, giving the ground a dejected kick. Mugman shook his head at his brother’s antics but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on his face.

“We can always catch another one later,” he consoled his brother. “But Mr. Psycarrot wants us for something.”

Cuphead grumbled but walked back with his brother to the garden anyway. The Root Pack were their neighbors and shared their crops with them so it probably wasn’t anything too special. At the same time, they usually didn’t ask the boys for anything much other than how their day had been, so it must have been important.

“Heya boys,” Psycarrot greeted as he waved his hand lazily. Weepy and Moe could be seen behind him, already tending to the crops for today. “I usually wouldn’t ask this of ya but with the big haul this year, I haven’t had the time to go out and pick up our next batch of ACME Grow. If you two could go pick it up for us, that’d be the bee’s knees.”

“Oh golly, of course Mr. Psycarrot!” Mugman exclaimed excitedly. Cuphead nodded his head with just as much enthusiasm. It wasn’t everyday that they got to leave Isle One since Elder Kettle was so protective. “Can you tell Elder Kettle for us?”

Psycarrot nodded. “Thanks boys, you sure are swell fellas.”

He waved the two off though the boys didn’t noticed with how absorbed in their excited chattering they were. He chuckled at the two before turning back to his crops. It was when they were almost out of earshot that he remembered what he had been asked to tell them.

“Oh boys, Cagney also wanted to see you!”

Obscured from view, he didn’t see the way Cuphead’s face twist in distaste or hear him mutter, “Do we _have_ to?” He didn’t see the way that Mugman reprimanded his brother before replying, “Yes sir, thank you for telling us!” No, he didn’t see any of this.

What he did see was an odd butterfly, colored unusually dark. If he had squinted harder, made out the peculiar designs of card suits on the insect’s wings, he might have known. He might have called the boys back because no one should be out when the minions of the Devil are afoot, especially not children. But when Weepy started to bawl behind him due to some accident of another, he paid the butterfly no mind.

It was just as well, for the butterfly at least, as it continued to flap after the two boys.

* * *

 

“But do we really _have_ to?” Cuphead asked for the seventh time in the last ten minutes. Mugman was thoroughly exasperated at this point and couldn’t keep the snap from out of his voice.

“Yes, Cuphead, we have to. Mr. Cagney may be a bit scary and grumpy but he’s still our neighbor!”

Cuphead rolled his eyes at this but fell silent. While the other two Isles of Inkwell were rather large, their Isle seemed to have been the runt of the three. It wasn’t a bad place to live, far from it, but due to such close proximity, the inhabitants of the Isle were all neighbors in one way or another. It was such a shame, in Cuphead’s opinion, that this included Cagney Carnation, the Isles’ biggest grump.

“Fine but I don’t have to like it,” he finally declared. Mugman snorted at this but kept quiet. If sulking made his brother feel better, then he could sulk away. At least it was quiet now.

It wasn’t long before the brothers came to a small clearing filled with flowers. Tulips giggled and waved as they passed while Sunflowers beamed down at them. The roses, ever the prudish skirts, stuck up their petals at them.

“Mr. Cagney,” Mugman called. “Mr. Psycarrot said you wanted to see us.”

“We don’t have all day ya old weed.”

“Cuphead!”

“What, ‘snot like he doesn’t call us sippy cups every time he sees us.”

“Maybe,” a new scratchier voice entered the conversation. Both cups jumped and turned to the newcomer. “It’s because ya act like one, ya sippy cup.”

Cuphead gave a fierce scowl. “Told ya so.”

Mugman rolled his eyes at his brother but turned his attention back to the giant flower. “Did you need us for something Mr. Cagney?”

Cagney nodded. “Yeah, Mugboy. (“Oh, but _he_ isn’t a sippy cup.” Cuphead was politely ignored.) I need you boys to do me a favor. Ya see, lately Honeybottoms’ little worker bees have been showing up less and less and the flowers haven’t been able to grow. I need you two to go talk to that Policeman of hers and tell him about it. I would but I finally just got myself rerooted for the summer.”

“That actually sounds serious.” Cuphead sounded surprised.

“Of course it is ya sippy cup, or else I wouldn’t have asked for you two boys. Not after what happened to the peonies.”

Mugman had the decency to look ashamed but Cuphead looked even more confused at this point.

“I thought you said they were marigolds?”

“No, they were peonies and you boys are why they now refuse to grow here anymore.”

“How were we supposed to know—”

“Well, it was nice seeing you Mr. Cagney but we really must be going if we’re going to get everything done today,” Mugman broke in, tugging his brother behind him as he began to retreat down the path they had just came from. “I promise that we’ll talk to Officer Busby and everything will be right as rain.”

Cagney didn’t bother watching the two anymore as they had already begun to bicker between themselves. While the two boys could be endearing at times, they also brought with them more trouble than they were worth. It was better to distance himself away from them, less trouble come knocking at his door as well. Still, they were good for running the odd errand or two, peonies notwithstanding.

An odd butterfly fluttered past, unusually colored dark. He would have paid no mind to it, since many of the insects came and went from his clearing regularly, but the flowers seemed to shy away from its touch. He squinted his eyes to get a closer look before his leaves curled inward.

A thorny vine erupted from the ground, intending to spear the winged insect. But before the vine came within even an inch of it, the appendage stopped. It was as though something had taken over him and Cagney could do nothing but watch helplessly as the butterfly flew down the path the two boys had long since left.

* * *

 

Crossing over to Isle Two only took a short time, and from there Isle Three was only a hop and a skip away. It was hard to stay on track with the sights and smells of the carnival as they passed but they reassured themselves that they’d stop on the way back to wander and visit Junior. They hadn’t seen him since his dad had gotten in a new flock of birds, some sort of yellow songbirds.

From there, they debated whether to speak with Officer Busby first or to go to Werman’s Wares to pick up the Acme Grow. Eventually, they decided to visit Officer Busby first since Mugman pointed out that if they went to get the Acme Grow first, they would have to carry it for longer.

“But if we hafta pick it up anyway, what’s the harm in lugging it around a few more minutes?”

“You just want to look at the prank section and see if you can finally pull one on Officer Busby.”

“Heh, guilty as charged. But ‘snot like _you_ weren’t thinking the same.”

“Golly, me? Why I’d never!”

The brothers fell into snickers at the thought. They were known as the troublemaker _s_ , plural, of Inkwell Isle, even if to most it seemed that Cuphead drug his brother into their various mishaps.

“Sure, ‘Mr. Angel.’ Hey, are your lips okay?”

“What? Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Well, you’re such a kiss up—”

“Snrk, come here!”

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

Laughter filled the air again as they raced down Main Street, neither one completely serious about their quarrel as it was all in good fun. Many citizens looked out windows to see what the fuss was about before smiling and going back to their day. A few scowled but did nothing to stop the boys as they were soon long gone in their race to the Honeycomb Herald.

Cuphead nearly collapsed at the foot of the Herald, bending over to catch his breath. He could hear Mugman wheezing behind him as the other cup caught up. Giggles spilled out of their mouth in between their panting. They would get their breathing under control before glancing at each other and bursting out into laughter again. Cuphead eventually squeezed his eyes shut as he fought to control his breathing.

The giggles faded away after a few seconds but he didn’t reopen his eyes. He felt a calmness settle over him as he heard Mugman begin to breathe in sync with him. It was a nice feeling, he thought, as he listened to his slowing heartrate, the salty smell of the not too far off sea entered his lungs and the warm rays of sunlight caressed his face. His eyes flew open at the gentle touch of something on his nose.

Cuphead stared, mesmerized by the odd butterfly that was unusually colored dark. The only splashes of color on it, if he squinted, were the odd spots and white lines on its wings. He could make out a red diamond on one and the outline of a spade in white on the other before it gave its wings one last flap before lifting off.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was chasing after it. He didn’t have to look behind him to know that his brother was following. They ran back the way they came, people having to doubletake at the silence of the two ordinarily rowdy boys, past the Herald, past Werman’s Wares, past the theatre and junkyard until they came upon the tracks.

It was like being broken out of a trance as the two boys stood beside the tracks looking into the gaping maw of Inkwell Hell. They had heard stories of the place but had never dared come so close. The Phantom Express, which was normally sitting idle on the tracks, was gone, on a delivery run between the two worlds of the living and the dead and wouldn’t be back until nightfall. Looking at each other, the brothers gulped as a feeling of dread came over them.

Swallowing his fears, Cuphead stepped hesitantly forward. Although his knees were knocking beneath him, he took another step. A rush of bravery flowed through Mugman at this and with three quick steps he joined his brother as they crossed the tracks together.

At once, the feeling of dread subsided until they were left feeling silly. What had there been to be afraid of? The butterfly, which had been forgotten about until then, reappeared and, without thinking, they followed it and descended into Inkwell Hell.

The butterfly once again disappeared but the brothers didn’t pay any mind to it as a new building caught their attention. The flashy lights and towering adornments of the casino drew gasps and eyes that sparkled in wonder. A smile tugged at Cuphead’s lips and Mugman, while pensive, could agree with his brother’s amazement. It was when Cuphead headed towards the door that Mugman finally tore his gaze away from the glittering establishment.

“What are you doing!” he yelped, tugging Cuphead back. The other’s eyes were fixed to the door, as if under a spell. He only glanced over at Mugman when his brother gave another harsh pull on his arm.

“What? It looks like fun and you know that Elder Kettle would never let us do anything like this.” Cuphead crossed his arms. “Besides, you _know_ you want to ‘Mr. Angel.’”

“I never said I didn’t,” Mugman defended, also crossing his arms as he slouched to the side. “But would they really let in two kids like us?”

Cuphead scoffed. “It’s the Devil’s Casino, as in, _the_ Devil himself.”

“But what if he had some morals?”

Mugman received a flat look.

“…yeah, okay, let’s go in.”

Cuphead grinned at that and raced inside. Mugman gave a strangled yelp and lurched after his brother. He only walked a few paces into the casino before he crashed into his brother’s back. Biting back a choice set of words as he rubbed his nose, he followed Cuphead’s gaze up. A cigar towered above them, amusement splayed across his face. Mugman could already feel his limbs begin to shake as the man sucked in a breath and blew out a smoke ring.

“Now, wha’s two bunny’s like youse doing out here?” The man’s voice had an accent to it with a rough undertone. Cuphead swallowed as he prepared to answer him but Mugman beat him to the punch.

“W-we came to-to play, of cuh-course!” Mugman flashed his winning smile. The man flashed him one of his own, only his had a sharper edge to it.

“Of course ya did. Name’s Wheezy, kid. Now why don’t ya run on back home to ya’s momies.”

“B-but Mr. Wheezy,” Cuphead broke in. He drew himself up in hopes to appear more confident. “We really did come to—”

Wheezy tilted his head back as he roared with laughter. The two boys jumped at the sudden noise, giving each other startled glances as the man gave a few more chuckles. He wiped a tear from his eye as he went back to address the boys.

“Mr. Wheezy, he says, what a riot!”

“U-um, ar-are you okay Mr.—”

Another bout of laughter spilled out of his mouth as Wheezy held up a hand to shush Mugman. The two cups fell into uneasy silence as the man continued to break down into some maniacal chuckle fest. Cuphead gestured to his head, making a swirling motion with his finger. Mugman scowled at his brother and shook his head.

“Ah, youse two is funny. I like it. Go on in boys.” Wheezy stepped aside and ushered the brothers into the casino.

“Hot dawg…”

“Golly…”

Rows of slot machines stretched out in front of them as patrons fed coins into their greedy mouths.  Roulette, pool, and poker tables lined the east side with craps tables, claw machines, and a large stage with what appeared to be a magic show on the west. A bar lined the back wall corner to corner with various alcohols and drunkards. A door on the left led outside to the horse races. Smoke filled the air along with the plinking of poker chips and dings from the slot machines. The boys tugged at their shirts at the warmth of the room but that was to be expected from hell itself.

“What do you have here Mr. Wheezy?” a smooth voice called out. The boys turned to see a dice in a dapper purple suit. Wheezy shook his head (causing some of the ash that had built up on his head to tumble onto the boys, much to their ire) and walked off at the sight of the dice. Upon spotting the two boys, the dice’s slightly unsettlingly smile became slightly strained. “Ah, what are you two adorable little,” he raked a critical eye over them, “rag-a-muffins doing here? Don’t you know that there are no minors allowed?”

Mugman shot Cuphead a look of, ‘I told you so!’ Not one to be deterred, Cuphead challenged, “Well, how about we play for it! If we win, we stay. If you win, we go.”

“And your game of choice?” the dice asked amused.

“Um…”

The dice rolled his eyes as he pointed to the east side. “We have poker, craps, pool. I’d also suggest a drinking game but.”

Seeing how his brother was beginning to grow irritated with the dice, Mugman blurted out, “Craps! Uh, p-please Mr…?”

“Ah, a fine pick gentleboys.” Mugman shoved a hand over Cuphead’s mouth before he could say anything. “It’s Mr. King Dice by the way. Now, right this way.”

King Dice lead the brothers down the line of full craps tables to an open one in the back. Three skeletons were already in the midst of a game when they arrived, the brothers looking at them in a mix of curiosity and horror. One of the skeletons suddenly shouted, “Come!” as another with a hat and cane rolled a six and a three.

“Ah, fellas we have some big timers over here,” King Dice broke in. The skeletons turned to look at the new group and the boys couldn’t quite keep the tremble out of their legs. “They challenged me to a game.” The skeleton snickered and elbowed each other’s ribs. “Now, being the manager of this establishment, I can’t be expected to play without some suspicion so can I ask you to play in my stead.”

Cuphead and Mugman stared at the dice, not believing their ears. This sleazy guy was the manager?!

“Of cour’ Die, ‘snot like we don’t owe ya one already,” the skeleton on the left said. “Jus’ let us finish our game, yeah?”

King Dice nodded and they settled back to watch the game. The skeleton with the dice rolled again, this time getting a four and a two. The last skeleton yelled, “Don’t Come!” The game continued in this manner until the skeleton rolled a four and a five, where suddenly one of the skeleton’s money  was doubled. The shooter grumbled but rolled again, only to curse as a the dice landed on a one and a six.

“Come bet wins,” the shooter groused, the skeleton with doubled money grinning while the other skeleton shook his head.

“Well, tha’s all for me fellas,” the third skeleton said as he bowed out, nodding his head at King Dice and the boys as they took his place. The brothers felt a bit overwhelmed as King Dice went on to explain the rules. Numbers swirled in front of their eyes with different bets ringing in their ears. Shaking themselves, they shared a determined look before nodding.

“You’ll be shooter this round,” the skeleton with a hat said, handing Cuphead the dice. He hesitated a moment, feeling the dice in his hand. They didn’t feel any different from the regular dice they had back home but could you really tell with loaded dice? A hand on his shoulder from Mugman snapped him out of his hesitance and he called out, “Pass!” as he threw out the dice.

One of the dice landed on a six while the other one continued to tumble. For a moment, everything at the table seemed to hold its breath as it looked like the die would land on a six. It teetered for less than a second between six and five before falling forward with five on top. The moment stretched on one last time before Cuphead and Mugman jumped up with matching screams. The skeletons grudgingly pushed some of their chips to the boys, not that they noticed as they continued to hoot and holler.

“Well, would you look at that…” King Dice murmured, a genuine smile on his lips as he reassessed the two.

Drunk on their excitement of winning, the brothers decided to stay at the craps table and began calling bets with King Dice loitering in the background. Their pile of chips continued to grow as the games went on with hardly any leaving. Eventually, they had all the chips in their pile.

“Hot dawg!” King Dice exclaimed as Cuphead threw another winning roll. “These fellas can’t lose!”

“Nice run, boys,” laughed a newcomer. The already heated air rose to sweltering levels as the casino’s owner—the Devil himself—stepped up to the table. The brothers gasped at the imposing sight of him. The Devil gave them a toothy grin as he suggested, “Now how about we raise the stakes?”

The Devil held up a pair of dice and boomed, “Win one more roll, and all the loot in my casino is yours! But if you lose, I’ll have your souls! Deal?”

Mugman was almost certain that those dice were loaded. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Devil had probably rigged the game beforehand. Had it been another pair (and a less costly wager), he might have taken it.

Cuphead, meanwhile, had dollar signs in his eyes as he was literally blinded by riches. It was easy to picture the three of them, himself, Mugman, and Elder Kettle, in their cottage and set for life. How they could pass the days leisurely (as if he didn’t do that now) and eat the fancy food that they could only have if he and Mugs saved up a nickel here and there. They could actually afford all the fancy gear that Elder Kettle insisted that they had to have for adventuring (which is why they had never went before).

Like a telepathic thought had been shared, Mugman turned to look at his greed blinded brother who nodded at the Devil and grabbed the dice. “Good gosh, Cuphead, no!” he cried but it was too late. He could only sink down below the table as he watched the loaded red dice land with one pip up, looking a pair of venomous snake eye’s.

“Snake eye’s!” laughed the Devil as he grew in size. A massive hand came down to slam the floor, sending shockwaves through the casino which had gone dead silent. The other patrons looked on in pity as the two boys began to tremble in fear with the Devil looming over them. “You lose! Now about those souls…”

The boys kneeled on the ground as they began to plead for their very lives. “Th-there must be another w-way to repay you,” Mugman stammered.

“Yes, p-please, mister!” Cuphead added.

The Devil’s face grew thoughtful as he reached behind him. He snickered, “Hmm, perhaps there is.” He pulled out a parchment filled with a list of names. From this close, the brothers could see some that they recognized and some that they didn’t. “I have here a list of my runaway debtors. Collect their souls for me, and I just might pardon you two mugs.”

Suddenly, the Devil snake a hand behind the two and hauled them up roughly. “Now get going!” he roared, kicking the boys out most rudely. “You have ‘til midnight tomorrow to collect every one of those souls! Otherwise I’ll be the one collecting yours!”

Not wasting any time to even rub at their smarting limbs, the brothers scrambled to their feet and dashed back across the tracks. They skirted the town, not wanting to talk to any of the people as they were too terribly frightened by what happened. They ran as fast as they could with no real destination in mind. It wasn’t until they noticed the familiar surroundings of their island that the grip of fear on their souls loosened.

“C’mon Mug!” panted Cuphead. “We have to find Elder Kettle. He’ll know what to do!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when I mentioned physics? yeah, still a thing so I'm sorry if this story doesn't update regularly. also, as I was writing this I heard the a cover of "alola" in my playlist and this happened:
> 
> me: *writing*  
> brain: what if cuphead... with pokemon  
> me: *softly* fuk fam, yeah *plans out several teams*
> 
> so like... if yall want... i'll prob post oneshots as i'm writing this...
> 
>  
> 
> BONUS  
> Cup: y r u called king dice if ur only one die  
> Dice: *raises finger* Because-  
> *self awareness sets in*  
> *existential questioning*  
> *horror*  
> Dice: *lowers finger*


End file.
